Posted on 02/15/2012 7:20:18 AM PST by SeekAndFind
The nanny state tramples on parental prerogatives over kids 'diets' stories are irresistible blog fodder, arguably even tastier than the legendary 'dubious taser use by police' viral vids. Remember last year when a Chicago school flatly forbade kids from bringing in homepacked lunches? A school in North Carolina has a different approach: You can bring the lunch mom packed for you, but if it doesn’t meet the USDA guidelines, you’ll be marched to the cafeteria to eat a “healthy” lunch instead — and mom will be billed for the extra expense.
The punchline? Mom’s lunch actually did meet the guidelines in this case.
The girl’s mother — who said she wishes to remain anonymous to protect her daughter from retaliation — said she received a note from the school stating that students who did not bring a “healthy lunch” would be offered the missing portions, which could result in a fee from the cafeteria, in her case $1.25…
“What got me so mad is, number one, don’t tell my kid I’m not packing her lunch box properly,” the girl’s mother told CJ. “I pack her lunchbox according to what she eats. It always consists of a fruit. It never consists of a vegetable. She eats vegetables at home because I have to watch her because she doesn’t really care for vegetables.”
When the girl came home with her lunch untouched, her mother wanted to know what she ate instead. Three chicken nuggets, the girl answered. Everything else on her cafeteria tray went to waste.
“She came home with her whole sandwich I had packed, because she chose to eat the nuggets on the lunch tray, because they put it in front of her,” her mother said. “You’re telling a 4-year-old. ‘oh. you’re lunch isn’t right,’ and she’s thinking there’s something wrong with her food.”
Watch the Fox News clip below to see how the mother’s lunch measured up to the USDA guidelines. Ready for another punchline? When the school forces a “healthy” lunch on a kid, it doesn’t take away the lunch that mom packed. The child could, if he/she is hungry enough, presumably eat both, which is an … interesting strategy for reducing child obesity. And of course, the final punchline: The little girl in this case still didn’t end up eating any vegetables despite having two lunches in front of her, which, of course, is why mom didn’t bother packing any veggies in the first place. So we end up not only with a bunch of wasted food but with a kid who didn’t get the basic nutrition that her mother’s own meal would have provided her. Perfecto.
Said the girl’s grandmother, “This isn’t China, is it?” The Civitas Institute notes that this is a nationwide practice based on federal guidelines, but I’m as surprised to learn that as the “shocked” North Carolina state rep whom they contacted for comment. Question for our readers with kids in public schools: Has your child ever been hassled before over the lunch you’ve packed for them? I assume these guidelines are very loosely enforced, precisely because parents get angry when the state starts micromanaging their kids’ diets.
If we went ahead and banned Happy Meals and pulled potatoes out of school cafeterias and regulated sugar like it’s cocaine or something we might not have these problems, you know. Two clips here, one from Fox and the other via Breitbart TV of a school official in Michigan reminding parents that they do not, in fact, know best.
Update: I replaced the Michigan video with a version from the MRC.
The law that allows the federal government to do this was passed recently. We should:
1) find a list of Republicans that voted for this, and expose them.
2) Find some Republicans willing to push for repealing this federal intrusion into local affairs.
Revolution is the plan, civil war will be the result.
Yes, in some limited cases, mom's have no other choice but in many if not most, moms in the work place are there to supplement income to buy more "stuff for their kids."
What kids don't need more of is "stuff" what they do need more of is - mom!
To liberals, there is no limit to how far to go to micro-manage our lives.
To liberals, it makes perfect sense for bureaucrats in Washington, DC, to supervise what kids in Oregon eat for lunch.
To liberals, the constitution means whatever they, or liberal judges, say it means. So your comment about no constitutional authority for the federal government to be involved with lunches is something that they can’t accept. To them, everything is the business of the federal government.
Home school using BOOKS not computer generated curriculum.Stay off the grid....
This is what happens when you put the stupid/incompetent in charge,like after Russian revolution . Kids being traumatized at lunch .
Were this my kid who ever did this to him/her would be served up a knuckle sandwich courtesy of Chef Jmac.
Exactly. It is not about nutrition...since the kid's lunch meets the requirements set by the USDA....it's about control.
Just as gun control is not about guns.
obama worshipper: “I’m sure they know what’s best. obama loves this country and is only trying to make it better for all of us. obama is good for this country.”
I refuse to speak to these idiots.
...”Does it really make sense to have someone in Washington DC determining what is a proper lunch for a child in say, Oregon—3000 miles away? Isn’t there some limit to micro-managing our lives?”...
There are no limits when dictatorship is the goal..Dictatorship has proven to be the most unhealthy state for mankind to live under. When it is fully established, the officials will not care what the serfs eat or whether they eat at all. It is a process, folks, and we are hearing about it and watching it take us over day by day by day and people just accept it without very much response.
“... now kids get state institutional food”
You are right about that. In Montgomery Co (Md), the schools get the same food that is prepared and sent to the Detention Center. Yes, the county jail!
I agree. You will never convince them otherwise. They have been brainwashed. It's possible that something will trigger the light bulb to snap them out of their daze, but I won't try anymore. It's not worth my time to engage with idiots.
And global warming isn't about the environment. And gay marriage isn't about equal rights. And welfare isn't about giving people a hand up. And abortion isn't about women's rights. Every single cause on their agenda has a dark purpose. They truly are the party of the devil.
Nationwide practice based on federal guidelines.
Yes granny it is China.
Not yet...If 0 wins re-election...maybe
To get off the grid, (just read your reply), would take becoming like an illegal alien without ever getting legal assistance. :)
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